Peter Dutton announces huge Australia Day overhaul: ‘We live in the greatest country in the world’

Peter Dutton has promised to reinstate the mandatory requirement for councils across the country to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

The opposition leader criticized Anthony Albanese’s approach to the national day celebrations and accused the Prime Minister of letting January 26 become “something to be ashamed of.”

“Would we reinstate the requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day?,” Dutton told reporters on Monday.

“You can bet it will be done in the first 100 days, and it will be a sign of pride and nationalism in our country.”

Mr Dutton said he believed Australis was the “greatest country in the world”.

“I am incredibly proud of Australians and who we are. I am proud of our indigenous heritage,” he added.

“I’m very proud of our migrant story, and I’m very proud of the fact that we are a country that needs to stand up and protect and defend its values.”

In late 2022, the Labor government scrapped the previous rule requiring councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

Mr Albanese insisted there were ‘no changes here’, but this led to more than 80 councils deciding last year to scrap citizenship ceremonies on January 26 – up from just four a year earlier.

The prime minister was accused of ‘subterfuge’ by burdening the municipal council with the politically sensitive decision.

But opposition leader Dutton has now made it clear that the coalition, if elected, will restore the old rule.

“The Prime Minister sent a message to those councils that Australia Day didn’t matter and it was something to be ashamed of,” Dutton said.

‘The Prime Minister does not talk about that publicly. But that’s exactly what he did.’

Australia Day, celebrated every year on January 26, marks the landing of the First Fleet in 1788 when the first Governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Philip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.

But for many First Nations people it is considered “Invasion Day” or the “Day of Mourning.”

A recent poll conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) found that 69 percent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national holiday should remain on January 26 – an increase of six points from 12 months ago.

A recent poll conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) found that 69 percent of 1,002 respondents agreed that the national holiday should remain on January 26 – an increase of six points from 12 months ago ( photo: Australia Day revelers)

The poll also found that 86 per cent of respondents were ‘proud to be Australian’, while 68 per cent agreed that Australia has ‘a history to be proud of’.

IPA deputy director Daniel Wild said the results showed a shift in the atmosphere and energy around Australia Day.

“It is clear that mainstream Australians have been gutted by this attitude and the fact that they have been attacked by the elites,” Wild said.

“January 26 is more than just a date, it represents the establishment of modern Australia as a free and fair country.”

Mr Wild said that’s a backflip by supermarket giant Woolworths and hospitality operator Australian Venue Co to downplay the significance of Australia Day due to public backlash was also further evidence of the turning of the tide.

It comes after Liberal MP Andrew Wallace claimed most Aussies had a “gut feeling” about being told what to do by woke activists.

Mr Wallace, who represents Fisher in south-east Queensland, said he is regularly stopped on the street by ordinary Australians tired of the debate.

“The word ‘woke’ was never really in the mainstream vocabulary until recently,” he told Sky News presenter Danica De Giorgio last week.

“I think people have been absolutely gutted and I’m not talking about members of the LNP or people involved in politics, I’m talking about the average Australian who has had enough.

“They want the government out of their lives, they are tired of being told what is right and wrong, how to think, where to buy, what to do.”

Mr Wallace said Australia Day was “special” and should be treated as such.

“Australians are a friendly, peace-loving people who are and should be very proud of this great country,” he said.

“It is a very special day when we recognize Australia and we can be very proud of where we have come in the last 240 years.